Thank you, LinkedIn.

Just shy of a five-year run, this week will be my last at LinkedIn. Next week I move to UpGuard to establish a Sales Enablement function as we scale the sales organisation in 2021. 

While I’m excited to get stuck into a new challenge and return to a smaller company, I wanted to take a moment to reflect, say thank you and share a few lessons from a company that has been a truly exceptional employer. 

I’ve heard a lot of my colleagues talk about their joining story and how much they wanted to get a job here. Candidly, back then I didn’t completely understand why. I joined LinkedIn—more than anything else—to escape the aftermath of a poorly executed acquisition. But what I got was a masterclass in how to treat your employees right.

In the time I’ve been here I’ve helped new migrants get jobs, supported businesses the size of 5 employees right to 200k+, consulted to senior executives, been featured as a stock photo model, mentored new staff, become an Ally, become a LinkedIn certified recruiter, delivered way too many training sessions and developed a coffee addiction.

I've also managed to build some great friendships around the world. Which, as a side note, also involved a far too long walk from Brooklyn to Central Park, shooting time-lapses all over Chicago, getting caught in heavy rain in Oakland, partying in Macao, missing a flight that led to an impromptu stay in Dallas, having my card blocked in Hong Kong and a trip to the ER in Singapore.

And along the way I learned a few things, too.

At LinkedIn, I really learned that culture is a competitive advantage. 

Many companies have values, a stated mission and cultural tenets. When I worked at Apple the line was: “Our most important resource, our soul, is our people”. That showed up occasionally, but I wouldn’t say it set the tone for the working experience. 

At LinkedIn, the line “Talent is our number one operating priority” was regularly heard, and thankfully I saw it show up in decision-making, daily practice and even how we measured performance. 

This focus on people and culture meant that one day a month each employee had an opportunity to invest in themselves, their community or the world. It meant career experiences and ‘tours of duty’ were regularly possible. It meant saying no to a paying customer when a decision wouldn’t be of benefit to our members. It meant investing in initiatives that worked to create a more equitable experience for every member of the global workforce. 

At LinkedIn, I learned the art of truly thoughtful, considered communication. 

One day, I believe someone will case-study the Microsoft-LinkedIn acquisition. To showcase just one aspect, as a bit of a communications nerd, it was a masterclass in internal communications. The order of operations and cascading of the right information at the right time was like watching a chess grandmaster three steps ahead of their opponent. 

Jeff Weiner, CEO at the time, made it abundantly clear why it was happening, how it would play out, shared the ‘known unknowns’ and did it all within the constructs of LinkedIn’s stated vision and mission. From there, subsequent levels of hierarchy did their thing and the outcome was a company that after 12 months had better internal employee satisfaction than prior and started to accelerate growth. Wild! Particularly for a parent who at the time had a less than stellar record with acquisitions. 

At LinkedIn, I learned what truly compassionate leadership looked like

In 2020, we were all hit with the most disruptive global event in several decades. One in which the entire world is still fighting to manage effectively. 

In true LinkedIn fashion, it led with compassion. As the pandemic hit, the company quickly leaned on those world-class communication skills and kept employees informed. At the same time, the culture of compassionate leadership was shining fully. 

I don’t remember many details about exact working decisions, times, dates, how we would do X or Y, but I absolutely remember feeling a deep sense of gratitude I was working for this company. 

The first order of business in every email, call and meeting was about making sure our team was safe and taken care of. As the pandemic progressed LinkedIn created days off for us to reset, provided generous allowances to create an ergonomic and productive home working environment and overall made sure that the number one priority was self-care. 

With that sorted, at least personally speaking, I wasn’t wasting mental energy on the discomfort of the situation. Knowing LinkedIn was taking care of so many things, I could get on with my job and be productive. 

On a more personal level, just a year prior my wife and I were looking to grow our family and were finding it much more difficult than in the past. In what was a deeply stressful and difficult time LinkedIn structurally made it more possible for me (and us) to deal with the situation and my manager, Brad, showed up as the compassionate leader that I needed at the time. 

Overall, my experience with LinkedIn has been nothing short of great. This company is something special that I think many looking outside-in would have trouble understanding fully. And now I'll join those outsiders, cheering from the sidelines, hoping to see the company continue to deliver on its mission.

⋯

So, LinkedIn, thank you. The vision has always been about positive impact that permeated far outside the organisation, so I’ll take everything I’ve learned and hope to pay it forward not only in my next role but wherever I find myself in the future. 

A few special call-outs: 

Anthony Slater - for giving me a chance and hiring me on to your team. I learned a ton, got to nerd out on technology with you, and you gave me just the right balance of space and support to let me build some real momentum in my first 18 months. 

Ashley Tait - you taught me that a company’s culture only exists when its people show up and make sure to turn those words into actions. You are one of a kind. 

Brad Smith - the first time we spoke I knew I wanted to join your team. You showed up every day and managed a unique, globally distributed, and frankly, difficult team. You’ve become a great friend and I look forward to having our kids together again!

Ban Selvakumar - you’ve since made your own move, but thank you for being a great friend, teammate and for a short time, manager. I appreciate all the advice you’ve given and no doubt I’ll need to tap into again one day in the future. 

And lastly thank you to so many whom I had the great fortune of working with during my time at LinkedIn (I'll tag everyone I can in a comment below)